Blogroll

Marathon

When it comes to running, the crazy things that I do are carefully planned out. No last-minute craziness here! Two years ago I set my running goals in time format: I wanted to be able to run distances that I had already run, just faster. In 2015 I set new PRs at the 5k, 10 mile, half and marathon distances, while running 237 miles further than I did in 2014. In 2016 I set out to focus more on long run training in order to tackle my first ultramarathon. My last long run before the ultra was Space Coast Marathon, where I PR’ed by 12 minutes and was able to do it with a negative split. While a successful 50-miler was the big goal for the year, I believe the marathon PR was a bonus and a direct result of the many 26-mile-plus long runs that I wrote into my training plan.

What are your goals?

So what could I possibly have planned for 2017? I have three goals for the upcoming year, and for those who have called me crazy in the past, you’ll likely need that word three more times before you’re done reading. Santa didn’t bring much in the line of material gifts this year, but he left me a full dose of lunacy!

First up is a goal that I will start on January 7th and complete on February 5th. I am currently a member of the Half Fanatics (Saturn level) and a member of the Marathon Maniacs (Bronze level), and qualified for both simultaneously, giving me Double Agent status, level one of ten. I accomplished this two years ago by running 3 marathons and 4 half marathons in the same 90-day period. Back to my goal… I am going to be moving up to Double Agent level 3 and moving from Bronze to Gold as a Marathon Maniac by running 4 marathons and 4 half marathons within 30 days. I’ll be running the Disney Half and Full marathons (Goofy Challenge), Best Damn Race Jacksonville half, Shark Bite half, Clearwater Distance Classic marathon, Celebration marathon, Best Damn Race Safety Harbor half, and Tallahassee marathon within those 30 days.

That’s just goal #1 – there are still 11 months left in the year!

Goal #2: The race director for the Daytona 100 and Daytona 50 has announced a sister race in northern Michigan in June and I plan to do two things I have never done before. I will be going to Michigan and I’ll be running the Lighthouse 100 mile race. My goal is to finish the 100 miles of this race within the cutoff time of 30 hours. I’d love to bring that time down, but given the struggles that I faced near the end of the 50-miler earlier this month, and the fact that the Lighthouse 100 has “rolling hills” (where the Daytona 100 had max elevation of about 15 feet above sea level), I’m setting the goal 6 months out as finishing all 100 miles within the 30 hour limit. Also, at this point I have no idea if I will have a crew or will be running solo. Doing it solo will no doubt slow me down a great deal.

Have you called me crazy yet? But wait, there’s more!

Goal #3: Six months to the day after I run my second ultra and first 100-miler I’m going to run another 100-miler. I’m returning to the Daytona 100, this time to run the full 100 miles rather than the 50. Ok, so where’s the goal? In Michigan in June I plan to finish; in Florida in December I plan to finish in under 24 hours. I’m upping my finish time goal by a full six hours in six months. I plan on using the Michigan race as a learning tool to be better prepared and better trained by December.

Goal-setting is a good way for me to get the process started toward improvement. What keeps me on track is the accountability that involves my friends, family, and fellow runners. Even if you don’t know what it takes to prepare for a 100-mile race, I’ll bet you know what an excuse sounds like. If I’m throwing out excuses instead of miles, please feel free to mention it to me, however you see fit! I’m not setting big goals to try to be better than anyone, with the exception of who I am today, and that doesn’t sound crazy at all.

As much of the northern half of the country is looking forward to the warmer weather and the beginning of racing season, highlighted with next Monday’s Boston Marathon, those of us in the sunshine state are saying goodbye to racing season. Yes, there are a few races available May through September, but not many comparatively, especially if you’re looking for distances from half marathon through ultra. Overnight lows of 70 degrees-plus for 3-4 months straight pretty much eliminate the possibility of long, competitive runs.

As I look back on the past six months I see a number of highlights, and overall a season that I am happy with. My first race of the season was the Marine Corps Half Marathon in Jacksonville, FL where I posted my current PR for the 13.1 distance. I had set a goal time of 1:45 but finished in 1:48:19, beating my previous PR by just 38 seconds. Still, it’s a PR and a great start to the season.

Marine Corps Half finish line

October’s other race was my second running of the Lighthouse Loop Half in Port Orange, FL. Severe anxiety and stress joined me at the starting line that morning, and after three miles at a pace that would have given me that 1:45 time my heart rate was over 185. I backed it down, took some walk breaks, and finished in 1:59:00.

Lighthouse Loop Half bling!

Space Shuttle medal #2 from Space Coast marathon

Thanksgiving weekend I ran my fourth marathon and grabbed my second PR on the Space Coast Marathon course (first was my first ever marathon, but still). I bettered my 2014 time by 16 minutes, but still did not have a good handle on the 26.2 distance. Even with 20 and 22 mile training runs, getting past 17 miles in the race is something I struggle with, and have always gone to walk/run by that point, if not before. Goal number one for the remainder of 2016 is to become better at the 20 to 26 mile distance. I will run a marathon without stopping to walk. If I can’t then that 50-mile race will be a long December day.

Finishing marathon #5 in Cape Coral

2 weeks later I drove to Cape Coral, FL for another marathon, hoping for the nice cool weather we had race morning the previous year. At the start of the race it was 66 degrees, but by the finish we were in the low 80s. This definitely did not feel like December! The paramedics were treating runners just past the finish line by the time I got there. Again my first 17 miles went pretty well, but at that point I switched to a 1/1 walk/run and finished in 4:50.

Disney bling! Everyone needs some of this.

January brought me two races, both at Disney World and both in the same weekend. I elected to “only” do the Goofy Challenge this year, where last year I finished the Dopey Challenge. My plan was to run a steady half between 9:30 and 10:00 per mile in order to save something for the full the next day. Mission accomplished on the half (2:07:14) with very even splits. The full, however was the most difficult of the six marathons that I’ve done. On that race day the run/walk intervals started as we were leaving Animal Kingdom, or around mile 13.5 for those of you not lucky enough to have run this course. Goal time: 4:30, actual time: 4:57. Still, it’s six marathons attempted and six completed.

February brought me a couple of races, starting with Best Damn Race in Safety Harbor, FL. Beautiful morning for a race and I finished about 66 seconds behind my 13.1 PR. Happy day! The next day I ran a virtual 10k with a couple of friends. We completed our 6.2 miles at Disney’s Boardwalk area (hotel area between Hollywood Studios and Epcot). The pace was nice and easy which was fine with me!

Best Damn Race Orlando with Joy

Two more races during March: First was Best Damn Race Orlando half marathon which I ran with a friend. She was recovering from strep throat so the goal was to finish. Mission accomplished. Later in March I ran my first relay event – the Sarasota Half with another friend. I was somewhat disappointed with my time for the 6.9 miles that I completed, but I achieved two PR’s that day. My first relay half (automatic PR) was done in 1:57:08. I also achieved a heart rate PR – when we sprinted for the finish I hit 196 bpm, breaking my assumed max HR of 192.

Sarasota Half Relay with my teammate Krissy

UCF Storm the Campus AG award plus U, C, and F medals

April will finish with 3 races, although only one is complete. The third annual Storm the Campus 10 miler was my 50th race since my first race on November 1, 2013. I was trying to break 1:20 for ten miles, but finished in 1:22:20, good enough for second place in my AG. Races 2 and 3 for the month will be this weekend as RunDisney heads back to the parks in Orlando for the inaugural Star Wars Dark Side weekend. I’ll be running the 10k on Saturday and the half on Sunday. Can’t wait to run in the parks again!

After the Star Wars races this weekend I’ll be doing 6 weeks of heart rate training, where none of my runs will take me above 140 bpm. I’ll also be increasing my weekly mileage slightly from about 33 to around 40. After that I’ll continue to increase my weekly mileage and my long runs throughout the summer, peaking at 58 miles per week in 4 runs per week by mid-November. After a 3 week taper I’m running my first ultra, a 50-mile oceanside run from St. Augustine to Ponce Inlet on the east coast of Florida. Yes, I have a goal time already for this and no, I’m not ready to share it yet, but you can bet it’s not what you’d expect for a first time ultramarathoner.

Best of luck to all of you as you enter your racing or training season. There are plenty of PR’s still to be had out there – grab yours!

Last weekend I had the chance to run at Walt Disney World again, and like each time before I was consumed with anticipation. Disney World has always been a special place to me and having the chance to run races there makes it that much more special. This year I took a step back from the Dopey Challenge that I ran last year and opted for “just” the Goofy Challenge. For those unfamiliar with these challenges, the Dopey Challenge is a 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, half marathon on Saturday, and marathon on Sunday for a total of 48.6 miles. The Goofy Challenge consists of only the half and marathon for 39.3 miles.

Epcot entrance at 3:45am

I went for packet pickup on Wednesday after work, but pretty much breezed past the expo, except for meeting up with my friend Megan who was working in one of the booths. Next up in my preparation was Friday evening. While I was putting my bib on my race shirt and getting my gear ready, my daughter was making a sign. She had decided that Saturday’s half was a good time for her to make her first cheering appearance. So when 3:15am came we were both ready to leave for EPCOT. Her plan was to take the monorails from EPCOT to the Magic Kingdom and then find a good spot on Main Street. Mission accomplished as she ended up at the end of Main Street just before the bridge to Tomorrowland, an easy place to find her. While she was settling in there I made the 20 minute walk to the starting corrals and then waited for the start of the race. Right at 5:30am the wheelchair competitors were off, followed closely by corral A, then B, and by 5:35 the 500 or so runners with me in corral C were watching the fireworks go up, signaling for us to go! The WDW Half Marathon was underway.

Each corral gets their own fireworks when it’s GO time!

For the first eight minutes I watched my heart rate spike as high as 178 but then settle in to the 150s for a half mile, then low 140s. This was a good place to land considering I had been training less than I wanted to after my two recent marathons. The first five miles took us down the road toward the Magic Kingdom, through the MK toll plaza and parking lot, past the Transportation and Ticket Center and the Contemporary Resort. In the sixth mile we entered Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, where I remembered to look for my daughter. I found her right where she said she’d be and she quickly flipped her sign around from the side that said “Motivational Sign” to “Go Daddy Go”. She yelled some encouragement and I quickly made my way into Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, through Cinderella’s Castle, through Liberty Square and Frontierland, and out of the park.

Sign for me….

and for everyone else!

The next 6 miles take runners from the back of the Magic Kingdom past the Grand Floridian and Polynesian Resorts, over a couple of bridges, and to a side entrance into EPCOT. The last mile or so took us through the Future World portion of EPCOT, past Spaceship Earth (AKA giant golf ball), and out into the parking lot for the finish. Knowing that I still had 26.2 miles to run the next day I did not push the pace at all, though I did speed up for the last half mile or so. My splits were right about where I planned them to be: 30:37 for 5k (9:52 pace), 1:01:11 for 10k (9:51 pace), and 2:07:14 at the finish (9:43 pace). I did not feel any aches and pains in my legs, though the bottoms of my feet were still sore from the previous two marathons. My feet would be my only question going into day 2 of the Goofy Challenge.

Half marathon is done – shiny new Donald bling!

Between races I met up with Steph who was working at the expo. I also met up with Gelcys and a bunch of other runners at Disney Springs before enjoying a quiet evening at home. Before I knew it, my 2:45am alarm was going off. Soon I was headed back to EPCOT, this time without my daughter. The car ride, parking, bag check, walking to the corral, and waiting – pretty much the same routine as the day before. We did get started a few minutes later on Sunday, with corral C not entering the course until 5:42. Although I had done a bunch of training to make a run at a sub-4:00 marathon, this was not going to be the day because I knew it would be a mistake to even try. I set off at around 10:00 per mile with the first 8.5 miles being pretty much the same as the half marathon course, though there were a couple of different turns inside the Magic Kingdom. We ran right past where the WDW Speedway used to be. In previous years the marathon included a lap around the track, but this past fall the speedway was taken out.

My official splits had me at 50:43 for 5 miles (10:09 pace) and 1:41:34 at 10 miles (10:10 pace) so I was pretty much just running along at my easy, long run pace. Miles 8.5 through 12 were uneventful on the road to Animal Kingdom. In and out of Animal Kingdom brought me to the halfway point in 2:12:55 (10:09 pace). This is where my race started to unfold. I stopped to walk for a minute, then back to running. Six minutes later I walked again followed by ten minutes of running. I was just past halfway and had already taken a series of walk breaks. I continued to walk/run all the way to and through ESPN Wide World of Sports and then back to Hollywood Studios. I passed the 20 mile split at 3:38:27 (10:56 pace) and at that point was just hoping that I could hold on to beat my slowest marathon time to date.

Goofy Challenge, Marathon, and Half medals

Around the end of mile 23 we headed into Hollywood Studios for about a mile then it was along the boardwalk back to EPCOT, around World Showcase, back through Future World and out to the parking lot for the finish line. I was not able to stay below my previous slowest marathon time of 4:53:47. I finished in 4:57:00 after a second half in 2:44:05. Needless to say I was disappointed, especially considering that I finished better a year ago while completing Dopey AND had a long marathon training season this past year. Someday I’m going to figure this marathon thing out!

There is definitely a learning curve when someone decides to take the plunge and start racing. There really are a lot of things that you need to learn in order to make the most of your experience, and in some cases, make it through the race. For example, I had been a runner for just a couple of months when I ran my first half marathon. I had never run more than 10k, and I had only done that twice (once was the day before the half). I remember asking my friend Steph about the concept of eating while running, how to do it, what food would be available, if I should stop to take in the food, etc. Of course, this conversation took place in the starting corral so my options were limited.

If you’re not familiar with the answers to these questions then you may not know about a handful of other topics that I witnessed during my marathon a week ago. They may seem so obvious to an experienced racer that these items might get overlooked when a veteran gives a few tips to a new runner. For example, be aware of where you’re going on the course. I’ve run 44 races and have yet to find one that is without a challenge or fifty within the course itself. Some have you going on and off of sidewalks, running on the road and then on a trail, running alongside traffic, or even running on 100 year old brick streets in downtown Orlando. In last weekend’s race there were 30-inch tall orange cones set up about 100 feet apart which were meant to mark the left edge of the racing lane. At least one runner didn’t see one of these cones, ran into it, and was knocked to the ground. She was about a tenth of a mile into the race with several hundred racers behind her. Luckily she was not seriously hurt and was able to keep going. Tip: Look where you’re going!

Three other things that I noticed during this race were all done by the same runner. “Jerry” went out pretty quick, though the first time I saw him was when I passed him around the 1.5 mile point when he slowed to a walk to catch his breath. He soon passed me back. Then I passed him again. I didn’t catch him every time he walked, but I did pass him for good around mile 4. It was the eighth time that I passed him. I’m hoping that this was a new racer mistake and not his racing style. He finished his half in just under 10:00/mile pace and the reason I know this is because he wore his bib on his butt (mistake #2). Most racers that you pass (or pass you), you never know their number because they wear their bib so it is visible from the front. This is so racers can be identified in race and finish line photos. Unless someone was taking pictures of Jerry’s butt, all of his free race photos will remain unidentified.

Jerry’s third mistake happened at a water stop. He grabbed a cup of water from one of the volunteers and quickly drank it without stopping then crumpled up the cup. He held onto the cup until he reached a trash can set up by the volunteers, then threw the cup on the ground right next to the can. Really? It wasn’t like he missed, he practically laid the cup on the ground next to the can. Please remember that these races would not happen if it wasn’t for the volunteers that support them. We don’t need to make their jobs any harder.

The final tip that I have for you also deals with the water stops. In any race longer than 10k you should be hydrating during the race. If you can’t run and drink at the same time then walk for 15 seconds and drink. Last week’s race was very hot and humid with temps in the lower 80s by the time I finished, and half of the marathoners were still on the course when I finished. Right at the finish line I saw paramedics working on someone who had finished just before me. I’m guessing it was some form of heat exhaustion just because of the weather. Even if it wasn’t, the reminder is a good one: consume fluids while you’re running long distance.

What other things have you seen runners do during a race that are easily avoidable mistakes?

So I completed a marathon just two weeks prior to attempting the Best Damn Race Cape Coral full marathon. Does that mean there was not enough recovery time to expect a good performance out of myself? In and of itself I don’t believe the timing was very much of a limiting factor. After all I had been training between 40 and 50 miles per week quite a bit during this cycle in order to prepare myself for this very situation. My legs and my mind were in a good place as I started my three hour journey to the Ft. Myers/Cape Coral area and I felt confident. The one thing that had me concerned was the weather forecast: 68 and humid for the start of the race. Not what I was hoping for.

Maybe a little noisy but restful sleep!

The drive was uneventful and packet pickup was easy as could be. Considering the issues that I have had lately with my heart rate, I took the stress-free process so far as a good sign as I relaxed in my hotel room. I usually have difficulty sleeping the night before a race due to anxiety, so I thought I would download an app to monitor my restlessness – maybe this information would assist my doctor in some way. Surprise! I slept like a baby. Maybe better.

Most important, I woke up feeling fresh and ready to go. I got ready, had something to eat, grabbed my gear and headed out to the race site. After I arrived there was an hour until the start of the race – plenty of time to get mentally prepared and get a half mile warm-up run in. My heart rate looked good on the warm-up so I had another reason to feel good about this race. I grabbed my Generation U-Can 30 minutes before the start and headed to the start area pretty pumped about the possibilities.

The marathon and half marathon started at the same time since the full was two loops of the half course. There were about 635 people doing the half and only 167 that completed the full so the crowd wasn’t overwhelming by any means. Still, there was an issue right after the start that nearly cost one runner her whole race. Orange cones were set up on the dotted white lines between lanes of the first road we ran on. A woman running next to me didn’t see one of the cones, tripped over it, and landed hard on the road. Luckily no one stepped on her and she was able to continue, but for the next mile I saw other runners picking up these cones and throwing them into the median so no one else would run into them. With all of the commotion I lost concentration on what I was doing for a few minutes and ended up running the first mile about 45 seconds faster than I had planned. This brought my heart rate up higher than I was happy with, which stirred up the anxiety and the endless cycle. Here we go again.

I was having difficulty slowing myself down for quite a while. It felt like I was taking shorter strides and people were passing me but my PAG (Pace according to Garmin) was only slowing by a few seconds per mile. I decided to keep my eyes on John, the 4:00 pacer, and make sure that he was pulling away from me. This worked eventually, but it took until the 6th mile for me to slow to a 9:37 pace, while my goal was 9:45. Through the first five miles my heart rate had peaked at 172 and I averaged 168 on mile 5. I should not be working my heart that hard at that pace. Even though the doctor and the ER team found nothing wrong with me after multiple tests, I know that something isn’t right.

Back to the race… miles 6-10 were nice and smooth, between 9:30 and 9:45 with my heart rate holding steady at 165-166 for five miles. From 11-17 my pace was between 9:41 and 10:12 but my heart rate took off, landing at 182 for the 17th mile. I forced myself to run another half mile but I was feeling it in my legs and the bottoms of my feet so I knew it was time to walk for a minute or two. I made it to 2:49 of the race before I took a walk break. Although I have gone longer in training runs, this was further than I had gone without stopping in my previous four marathons. Besides the fatigue and the heart rate issues I was also starting to feel the effects of the heat. Yes, that dreaded December heat. Remember the 68 degree start-time temp? By the time I finished the race the temperature was up in the low 80s and the course had very little shade after 9am.

For the second half of mile 18, all of 19, and the start of 20 I attempted to run as much of the time as I could but was getting frustrated with the amount of walking that I was doing. Early in the 20th mile I started alternating 1 minute of running with 1 minute of walking. This seemed to be working well and it kept me a little more positive about the situation, even though I was getting slower and slower. Mile 20: 12:47. Mile 21: 14:08. Then 13:52, 13:59, 14:28, 14:48, and 15:21. Even at these paces I was still in the 176-180 bpm range every mile from 20 on.

Positive takeaway: I never gave up. I never considered giving up. I did seriously question my desire to ever run a race longer than a half marathon again, though. If I can’t get the heart rate issue under control is there really any point? The jury is still out on that one. Something has changed because I did not have these issues while training during the summer. My next doctor’s appointment is in 3 weeks. We’ll see what I can learn there.

Ten months ago I was set on the idea of qualifying for Boston with this race. A week before the race I was in the ER to try to find a reason for my recent spikes in heart rate while running. I wasn’t sure that this marathon was even going to happen, let alone what pace I could maintain. Add to it the fact that summer really hasn’t gone away yet in central Florida and I was seriously entertaining the idea of running at a snail’s pace.

Once I figured out that either the Zyrtec or the Albuterol (or both) were at least partially responsible for the heart rate spikes, I stopped using both and saw my heart rate drop, but still not to where it was two months ago. Race time (6am) temperature was forecast at 70 degrees, but weren’t we pleasantly surprised when it was only 68 at the start of the race! Even with the cold front I was still using a conservative race plan (BQ was definitely out of the question) and expected that I’d have to adjust my plan along the way based on how I felt and my heart rate, something that I failed to do 5 weeks ago at the Lighthouse Loop half. I decided to start the race with the four-hour pace group and even managed a few miles just in front of the pacer. Due to the congestion near the start our first mile was a little slower than it should have been (9:22) but not bad. After the second mile (9:06) I decided to jump in front of the pacer in order to grab some room to move.

I am able to know that I’m comfortable with a run when I can run splits that are pretty even without the use of a pacer. The next three miles were done in 8:57, 8:55, and 8:56. I like it! What I didn’t like was that the sun was up and so was my heart rate. For the fifth mile I averaged 165. Miles 6 through 14 were good as far as pacing goes, averaging 9:05, and I crossed the halfway point in 1:59:31. Mission accomplished for the first half, except for that pesky heart rate. Mile 14 averaged 180bpm. At this rate of increase I would have 3-4 miles left before I maxed out. I started working in some walk breaks which worked well for about 4 miles. The problem with walk breaks for me is that my legs don’t want to start running again once they have tasted the glorious feeling of walking. Miles 15-18: pace 10:23, HR 175.

By the 19th mile the bottoms of my feet started hurting and I could feel the burning start in my calves. I was not used to either of these sensations coming from long runs, but I knew that I didn’t like either one. I forced myself to run more than I wanted to and tried to keep the walk breaks relatively short. Miles 19-26 varied from 11:16 to 13:04, with an average heart rate of only 165. I could have pushed harder from a heart rate standpoint, but I just didn’t have any more in me. For the last half mile I used the support of the crowd to keep me running and sent my heart rate to its highest point for the entire race (183), but I finished the race running. I also finished it with a PR at 4:31:37, 16:02 faster than I finished the same race last year.

There were several similarities between this year’s race and last year’s version, and one major difference. I felt aching in my back both years so I need more gym time! I went out faster last year, reaching 13.1 in about 1:54 and I started slowing down about a mile sooner than this year. This year I had only 1 mile over 12:45, where last year I had six in a row over 13:45. This tells me that I have made improvements and I have better self-control, but I still need long-run work, especially at or near race pace. In shorter races the finishing time might tell a large part of the story, but in a marathon what happens along the way tells so much.

And for the race highlights that weren’t about me: My friend Christin drove to Cocoa from Orlando on race morning to see me finish, which I appreciate so much! I got to see some other friends set PR’s. Because of this race I have a new favorite spectator sign: Is that a gel in your pocket or are you following a hottie? Very nice. And if you missed it, consider yourself lucky because the guy who likes to run this race in just a speedo (shirtless too) was back again this year. And thankfully so were the people who live along the race route who take pleasure in spraying runners with a garden hose if they want it. I thoroughly enjoyed being sprayed! I will be back for this race again next year, better prepared and ready to collect my 3-year Milky Way Challenge finisher medal.

It’s amazing to me how little you need to know about running in order to be a runner, yet there is so much to learn if you want to progress in your running. I have learned from the dozens of mistakes I made last year and am making 2015 a better year in terms of progress made. Of course part of the knowledge gained includes the idea that I can train better and improve more by sticking to a training schedule more than a race schedule. I’m nearing the end of a 90-day stretch without a race and I must say that I’ll be happy to see it end.

At the same time I’m wishing that I could start this training cycle over. After a very specific training run this weekend I started doing research as to why I am seeing the results that I see. I ran 15 miles in a controlled environment (aka indoor treadmill) with the hopes of determining my ability to hold marathon pace on tired legs. I ran 8 warm-up miles at an easy pace and then switched to my goal marathon pace of 7:48 per mile. What I found was that my legs had no problems holding that pace, but my heart and lungs couldn’t keep up. After just 5 miles at MP I had hit a heart rate of 180. That’s a total of 13 miles for the day and I’m at 94% of my max HR (192). I backed it down to the easy pace for another two miles and called it a day, frustrated to say the least.

With my data at the ready I began to search for ways to improve my aerobic conditioning. I had made the assumption that as your body becomes able to handle the demands of running longer and faster, your entire body would adapt. Apparently this is not the case. I found several sources that told me about the Maffetone-180 idea and that building your aerobic capacity is possible, but it needs to be done before your training cycle and could take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. Um, my first marathon of this season is 70 days away. I did not find any other ideas for building aerobic fitness, but I did see where this method can help some athletes lower their resting heart rate to insanely low numbers, resulting in much more ability to keep a lower heart rate while running at faster speeds. This is what I need. This is not when I need to find out about it. Why do I not hear people mention things like this when they talk about their training routines? Is there some other way to accomplish the same thing (that I also have not heard of)? Will my heart rate adjust in the right direction with enough training or do I need to incorporate the Maffetone-180 idea into my plan for next spring?